The Market Report: November 2025

The Pucker | Heinlein Team
11/3/25

When the Ball Drops

Somehow New Year’s Eve parties can seem like they happened just a few weeks ago, and yet we are now in the last few months of the year. Our year has certainly been packed with changes, national and global events and upheaval that quickly remind us that it hasn’t been just a few weeks that have passed since the party. In New York City we get to witness a lot of events and news that the rest of the country watches through a sifted lens or pen, for good or bad. But like the din of car horns and sirens, we often block it out to focus on our own tasks at hand.

Last month we addressed how lately we have not just been confronted with the common question of “How’s the market?” but navigating through reasons that would-be buyers and sellers are holding to as personal justifications to not proceed with buying or selling – politics, mortgage rates, market performance and on. For some, no move is the right move right now. For others, as we look outside in at their goals, they are caught in the noise when there are good opportunities in front of them for what they are trying to accomplish.

Like all New Yorkers, we have our frustrations with our city, but we see a big picture right now, and it has a lot going for it. This year we have seen green space and park expansion proposals, several neighborhood rezoning proposals, along with subway and train extensions and other transportation improvement plans. With these civic projects comes hope for easier accessibility to work and play, improved lifestyles at the neighborhood level, opportunity for more small and big business development and more desirable options for much needed residential development.

As New Yorkers we often forget to look up, and there is considerable residential real estate growth underway that developers are betting on. Countless corners on Second and Frist Avenues on the Upper East Side have been leveled for new ground-up development, likewise with Hudson Yards, Downtown Brooklyn, Gowanus and the East River waterfront. In addition, the city saw a significant increase in permits filed this year for the rehabilitation of existing residential buildings and office-to-residential conversion projects for commercial buildings that have outlived their original use.

That said, we rarely discuss commercial development, but the Midtown rezoning is now baring major skyline changes with a significant amount of new commercial and office space development for the forward-thinking companies that are betting on New York City. Businesses leased 23.2 million square feet of additional Manhattan office space so far in 2025, the largest amount of new workspace rented in a nine-month period in 19 years. New York City’s office market is experiencing its biggest boom in nearly two decades. And office attendance in New York was 1.3% higher than it was pre-pandemic in July 2019, compared to the national return-to-office rate average which is still 22% below 2019.

There’s a lot of noise right now. A lot of people also see a lot of opportunity. These last few months of the year are often filled with reflection on goals we want to focus on in the new year ahead. But for those open to taking action now, there are opportunities that may no longer be available once the ball drops, the parties are over and the reflective join the crowd.

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